Chocolate-covered meth leads to Long Beach man's arrest

A Long Beach man was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in an alleged attempt to smuggle more than four pounds of chocolate-coated methamphetamine packaged inside Snickers candy bar wrappers, federal authorities said Monday.

Rogelio Mauricio Harris, 34, was preparing to board to a flight to Japan when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered a large box of candy bars inside his checked baggage, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation officials.

But instead of a sugary treat, the 45 individually wrapped bars turned out to contain the white, powdery drug covered in chocolate and could have sold for up to $250,000 on the street in Japan, ICE officials said.

Harris was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, ICE officials said. If convicted, he faces 10 years to life in prison.

"This scheme involved considerable planning and preparation and it shows the lengths to which smugglers will go in an attempt to elude detection," said Claude Arnold, ICE's special agent in charge for homeland security investigations in Los Angeles.

"The fact this ruse was detected should serve as a deterrent for others who might be considering trying similar tactics to conceal dangerous contraband," Arnold said.

The alleged methamphetamine smuggling operation remained under investigation, authorities said.

Other smugglers have used Easter eggs, snack food bags and cans of refried beans in recent years to conceal drugs while traveling through LAX.